Winding machines for winding spools or bobbins



Oct. 30, 1962 B. CARTER- WINDING MACHINES FOR WINDING SPOOLS 0R BOBBINS Filed Dec. 8, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet l n w I n I g 5 n L ,2 l I 0 3 1m z M :1 l n w 1:" 2.0: "I a M I tr. FE... m 1

ill I It 1 uh? @NVENTOR B H Ca ri'er- ATTORNEYS B. CARTER 3,061,237

WINDING MACHINES FOR WINDING SPOOLS OR BOBBINS Oct. 30, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 8, 1959 INVENTOR Ben C ar+ r- ATTORNEYS B. CARTER 3,061,237

WINDING MACHINES FOR WINDING SPOOLS OR BOBBINS Oct. 30, 1962 Filed Dec. 8, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS B. CARTER 3,061,237

WINDING MACHINES FOR WINDING sP'ooLs OR BOBBINS Oct. 30, 1962 Filed Dec. 8, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR BA-In, Cliffs ATTORNEYS WINDING MACHINES FOR WINDING SPOOLS OR BOBBINS Filed Dec. 8, 1959 B. CARTER Oct. 30, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Ban Ca r-+| ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofifice 3,061,237 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,061,237 WINDING MACHINES FOR WINDING SPOOLS R ROBBINS Ben Carter, Blackpool, England, assignor to. B & F. Carter 8: Co. Limited, Bolton, England, a company of Great Britain Filed Dec. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 858,114 4 Claims. (Cl. 242158.4)

This invention relates to winding machines and is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to winding machines for the simultaneous winding of a plurality of threads or filaments onto flanged spools or bobbins, such as are used in braiding machines.

One of the problems in the winding of flanged spools or bobbins is to control the change of the traverse with suflicient accuracy on the one hand to prevent building up of the winding against the flanges if the traverse change is late and on the other hand if the traverse change is early to prevent a gap being left between the end of the winding and the flanges. This problem is perhaps of greater significance when winding simultaneously a plurality of threads or filaments because it must cause irregularity of shape and consequent tension variation, if only momentarily, at the incidence of each change of traverse during unwinding.

The object of the present invention is a winding machine of improved construction adapted to provide high precision control of the winding traverse, particularly at the moment and position of reversal of direction.

According to the present invention, a Winding machine for winding a thread or filament or a plurality thereof onto a flanged spool or bobbin of the kind having a guide for the thread or filament mounted on a carriage with reversing traverse means for reciprocating the said carriage is characterised in that the reversing traverse means comprises forward and return traverse feed screws, means for continuously driving said feed screws, a complementary half nut for each feed screw, means for alternately engaging one or the other of the said half nuts with the appropriate feed screw thus to progress the carriage, and adjustable means at each end of said traverse adapted, upon contact by said carriage, to effect change over from engagement of one half nut with its appropriate feed screw to the engagement of the other half nut with its associated screw.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation of one example of a winding machine made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a and 3b together show a front elevation to a larger scale showing the traverse mechanism of the machine shown in FIG. 1, one feed screw having been removed in the interest of clarity;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a part of the machine as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b.

As shown in the drawings, the improved winding machine comprises a frame with top plate 11 on which latter is mounted an electric motor 13 with a 3-stepped driving pulley 13. On the top plate are also mounted the winding head 14 and bobbin centre 15. Below the motor 12 is a countershaft 16 carrying a 3-stepped driving pulley "17 complementary to the pulley 13. On the countershaft is a pulley 18 connected by belt 19 to a pulley 20 on the winding head. At the other end of the countershaft, referring now particularly to FIGURE 2, is a gear pinion 22, meshing with which is an idler pinion 23 carried by an adjustable stud, which idler pinion is also in mesh with a changeable gear pinion 24 on a further countershaft 25. On the countershaft 2-5 is a further pulley 26 coupled by belt 27 to the compound pulley 28 of a known type of variable speed gear which is further coupled by belt 29 to a pulley 3G. Mounted on a common shaft with pulley 30 is a gear wheel 31, and in mesh with said gear wheel 31 is a gear wheel 32 the latter, in turn, being in mesh with a gear wheel 33. The gears 32 and 33 are mounted on the end of traverse feed screws 34, 35. Control of the variable speed gear 23 is effected through an assembly comprising a spindle supported in a journal 101 on a bracket 102 secured to the frame 10 and connected, at one end thereof, through a knuckle joint connection 103, to a threaded rod 104, said rod 104, upon rotation, serving to move a lever pivotally mounted in a journal 1% on a rigid base plate 107, such motion effecting the requisite variation in speed by virtue of the change in effective diameters of pulleys of the speed gear 28. This variable speed gear assembly is of conventional form and will be well known to one skilled in the art.

On the spindle ltltl is mounted a chain sprocket 108, such sprocket 1% carrying a chain 1-09 which passes round a further sprocket 11% mounted beneath the top 11. By virtue of an appropriate bevel gear arrangement in associations with said sprocket and with a suitable pointer an indication might be given of the setting of the variable speed gear and thus the rate of rotation of the feed screws, such rate of rotation, when considered in relation of the rate of rotation of the bobbin, being indicative of the pitch of wind. The feed screws 34, 35 lie side-by-side parallel to the axis of the winding head and immediately between and below them is a square control shaft 36 carrying a traverse block 37 shaped on opposite sides with threads of a half nut to engage the respective feed screws 34 and 35 and so proportioned that it can pivot with the control shaft 36 to be engaged with one or other feed screw. Secured to that side of the traverse block 37 corresponding to the feed screw 35 is provided a plate 371), the plate 37b being so positioned and dimensioned as to be alined, when in position, with an abutment screw 49 and a stop 50, both later referred to. Mounted on the top plate 1 1 is a traverse plate 38 connected by roller 37a to the block 37 and itself carrying a bracket 39 for suitable guide rollers for the thread or filament. On the control shaft 36 is an arm 40' attached by a link 41 to the ends of armatures 42a, 43a of actuating solenoids 42, 43 respectively. These solenoids are adapted to be alternatively energized through a four-way snap action limit switch 44 actuated by a cam block 45 freely slidable on a slidable screw shaft 46, the switch being of such form that one or other solenoid is always energized. Fixed on the screw shaft 46 are collars 47 which restrain the cam block against relative axial movement and serve to position the block relative to the shaft, whilst rotation of the cam block 45 is prevented by a guide bar 48. An adjustable abutment screw 49 enables adjustment to be made relative to the block 37 for determining the limit of traverse at one end, the adjustment being provided to accommodate bobbins with flanges of different thickness. At the other end, on the screw shaft 46 is an adjustable stop 50, adapted to be engaged by the block 37, rotation of the screw 46 enabling the stop 50 to be set for bobbins of different length.

In operation, when setting the machine, the abutment screw 49 and stop 50 may be set while the machine is running, so that there will be neither building up nor cavitation at the flanges of the bobbin. The abutment screw 49 is adjusted in obvious manner by the rotation thereof in the cam block 45 and is locked in a required position by a lock nut 49a, whilst the stop 56 is in screw threaded engagement with the shaft 46 and is adjusted in position by the rotation of the screw shaft 46, there being provided a control wheel 46a to facilitate such latter adjustment. The control wheel 46a serves to rotate such shaft 46 by virtue of a square cross section end portion thereof upon which the wheel 46a is a free sliding fit. At each end of the travese, the block 37 engages the abutment screw 49 or stop 50 respectively, thus moving the slidable screw shaft 46 axially to cause the cam block 45 to engage or be disengaged from the contact 44a of the switch 44 thereby to actuate the appropriate solenoid for change-over of the block 37 from one feed screw to the other. During such change of direction, there is no rotary inertia or momentum in the traverse mechanism, so that an instantaneous change of direction is obtainable within very fine limits of position for such change. During winding, the pitch of the traverse may be adjusted by altering the setting of the variable speed gear. The change speed gearing is provided to increase the range of pitch setting obtainable from the variable speed gear.

The improved construction above described possesses several distinct advantages.

For example, the arrangement will allow of high pre cision control of the winding traverse. An even traverse is obtained by virtue of the half nuts being engaged in a screw-thread, the disengagement and re-engagement being extremely fast in operation due to the solenoids.

Furthermore, a high accuracy of pitch of wind is obtainable, the pitch being capable of adjustment, as is the traverse length, whilst the machine is running.

The invention is not restricted to the exact features of the embodiment hereinbefore described since alternatives will readily present themselves to one skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A winding machine for winding at least one thread or filament onto a flanged spool or bobbin of the kind having a guide for the thread or filament comprising, a carriage with a reversing traverse, a frame, the carriage having a traverse block, forward and reverse traverse screws mounted in the frame, means for continuously driving said screws, a complementary half nut on the traverse block for each screw, a rocking shaft on which the traverse block is mounted and is operative to alternately engage one or the other of the half nuts with the appropriate screw to thus move the carriage, spaced adjustable stops adapted, by contact of the carriage with said stops, to initiate the disengagement of one of the half nuts with its appropriate screw and cause the engagement of the other half nut with its screw, said screws being in the same horizontal plane, the half nuts being located at the upper part of the traverse block and between the screws, means for disengaging one of the half nuts from its screw and causing engagement of the other half nut with its screw including a pair of solenoids in a fixed position on the frame and caused to be respectively energized by the contact of the carriage with the respective stops, the solenoids being connected by linkage to the rocking shaft whereby energization of the solenoids causes rocking movement of the rocking shaft to thereby disengage one half nut from its screw and engage the other half nut with the screw therefor.

2. A winding machine as provided for in claim 1, wherein the rocking shaft for the traverse block is of non-round cross section for the greater portion of its length and on which portion the traverse block is slidable, the linkage consisting of a radially-extending arm fixed on one end of the shaft and a link extending between and connected to the armatures of the solenoids, the arm having an end pivotally connected to the link whereby the shaft is rocked in one direction or the other according to the energization of the solenoids.

3. A winding machine as provided for in claim 2, wherein the shaft is round at the end on which the radially-extending arm is located.

4. In a winding machine, a pair of parallel threaded feed screws, a square shaft rockably mounted below the screws and located between the same, a traverse block slidable along the square shaft and to which a rocking movement is imparted by movement of the square shaft, said traverse block being provided with a pair of half nuts for engagement with one or the other of the screws according to the direction of rocking movement of the rocking shaft, a frame, a pair of solenoids fixedly mounted on the frame, each solenoid having an armature, the armatures being in axial alignment, a link extending between and connecting the armatures, an arm projecting radially from the square shaft and pivotally attached to the link, and switch means operated by movements of the traverse block to cause energization of one or the other of the solenoids thereby to rock the square shaft through the iarmatures, the link and the arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,918,587 Bryant July 18, 1933 1,964,946 Helgason et al. July 3, 1934 2,472,919 Paris June 14, 1949 2,609,163 La Cesa Sept. 2, 1952 2,845,229 Bliss July 29, 1958 

